"conductor of joy”
when we were young,
quite young
we were not afraid
to express what we were feeling
still open, soft
and unashamed
when joy touched us
we melted in its embrace
and we became pure joy
we could not conceive of hiding it
that came later . . .
yet, openness and softness
the state free of shame
is still
there
waiting
for our return
"bearing witness”
one of the challenging human experiences
is bearing witness
to the pains of humanity
to the waves of ignorance and obsession
in all their varied expressions
that agitate individual and collective alike
we all play our part
answering for ourselves,
for the duration of our human incarnation
what does it take to stay subtle in heart and mind?
to still care when old
holding the course, living by example,
giving grace a chance
"flowing”
you are unique as you are in this moment.
you are never the same.
you have never been what you are now.
you will never be the same again.
here and now awake to yourself you are free
"bathed in marvel”
not only at night
are we surrounded by stars
moons above and below
galaxies to the left and right at all times
we find ourselves in a cosmic theater
too vast to comprehend
a beauty in twinkles
and precise orbits
reaching deep into the soul
shaking us loose from the humdrum
with the gift of the unfathomable
drunk on marveling
we tell each other
beautiful stories
"living in a bubble”
i see you - i see me
you see me - you see you
we encounter each other
through the weather patterns of our own bubble
all we witness, all we perceive
is filtered
through the multicolored fogs
of our own making
for us to meet
we need to bypass our biases
seems like only patience,
humor and great love can heal us
"incoming and outgoing”
becoming aware of my breathing
following the steady in and out
arising, cresting and fading away
breath moving though me like waves
and i wonder and begin to experiment -
can emotions be sensed the same?
continual waves
arising, cresting and fading away
it would seem so
then follows the observation of thoughts
arising, cresting and fading away
a constant flow and flux
moving through
a liberating,
continuing
in-house
observation
“living in the land of “It Would Seem So” what do i know for sure?”
after observing
on a Saturday night and a Monday morning
when satiated or hungry
in the spring of life and in the winter months
what is beneficial for one and all?
after contemplating and reasoning
continually
when well-rested or tired
what is beneficial for one and all?
what is worthy to be accepted,
practiced and lived in accordance with?
not because of traditions or personal habits,
not because it was adopted from sages or pundits,
not because it is the view of authority or the view of the masses
but because it agrees with my own current best reasoning
to the benefit of one and all
that is my living path
“a remedy in life’s medicine cabinet”
imagine,
holding no grudge, not even a tiny one
imagine,
no longer carrying the weight of resentments
imagine,
having forgiven enemies, loved ones and self
imagine,
having disentangled and tidied up the past
being free to meet this moment unobstructed
imagine,
forgiveness as a remedy in life’s medicine cabinet
always available to heal
imagine,
how it would feel to embody forgiveness
as a mental habit, an attitude, a way of life
imagine,
forgiveness as an agent of change
that seeks to create and maintain greater love
“of constancy and change”
on solstice morning my bare feet touch
the sacred ground of Mother Earth
She, Who Keeps the Rhythms
of our Wheel of Life
in faithful
regularity
spinning through space, never
in the same place twice
in harmony with Father Sun,
Moon Child and the Galaxies
what a wondrous paradox to behold seasons
of constancy and change
“when i meet death”
when i meet death
will i be trusting?
will i be curious
when the veil is drawn aside
and meet death
with the heart of a child?
can i approach my death
as a wonder held tenderly in the heart?
have i prepared myself?
time will tell
if i will cling and fight
or let go peacefully
for now let me practice making peace,
deepening the wonder, tending the garden of trust
“now”
wisdom tells me that life is a stream
of slow eddies and fast currents
that the weather within is
always on the move
yet how i observe the show
how i witness, frame and reframe
and tell the story to myself
that can be refined and honed
life can be viewed through many lenses
and i notice how i am still too scared
to fully embrace life in all its messy glory
to hold the sorrows and the joys
the world’s pains and generations of sweet laugher
and surrender to the Great Mystery
if i could travel back in time, i would tell myself
to abandon myself to love
to be still enough, to be open enough, to be vast enough
to hold the note of perpetual surrender
i would tell myself to remember now
and in the now that arrives just now
“what if . . . ”
… today i witness my words
like billowing clouds
traversing the space between us
filled to the brim with nourishing rains
for our souls delight
simple, soft and spacious
irking neither you nor me
“wholly deserving”
on her beautiful skin i walk
my feet touching the ground
and Earth whispers: i am here . . .
for you
in her cool waters i wash
and splash - quenching my thirst
again i hear:
i am here for you
and as the wind brushes against my face
the ocean of air echoes:
we are here for you,
we are here for you . . .
the moon, the sun,
the seasons too declare how
wholly deserving they find me
to joke with them
how loved i am!
“one third of life”
in my dreams
i can breathe under water
travel through time and sometimes
even gravity lets me escape and fly
the impossible is possible
even believable
and nightly i make my visits there
feeling quite safe in these altered states
whenever my ego gets too big for its britches
i remind it of the wondrous
one third of life
we spend in dreamtime
“…with news from far away lands”
in the southern sky
the tall birch stands
how it bends and bows today
so fluidly, like kelp in the ocean
making the invisible visible
messages written in the motion of leaves
moving currents bringing me
news from far away lands
the spring wind passing through
with tales of our connectedness
“open the window wide”
woke with the sound of sparrows
mating outside my open window
in time, soft and playful the young will arrive
and voyage through the web of life
we enter and exit the stage of life the same
after birth - death is guaranteed
sparrow and girl
can’t change the course of the Wheel
so natural
yet fear makes such a fuss
all part of the game
the known, unknown, and unfathomable
so what’s a girl to do?
fill the sails with trust
open the window wide
be with the songs of life
“melting all doubts”
what do you call them
these meaningful moments
that reconnect you to
the mystery of your existence
that come so unexpectedly,
with divine tenderness, melting all your doubts
into clarity and union
if only for an instant
these moments that are so unique to your life,
calling you close again, into the mystery
how your soul glows
when you remember your moments
“…and forgiving”
do you remember . . .
uncontrolled giggles and belly laughs
ripples of mirth
cascading from eyes to lips
let us travel again to this land of joy
in fact, let us live there
where we are soft and resilient
where ease abounds
and nothing is too sacred to be joked about
where our fears are kites in the wind
and our capricious egos
are watched like good sporting matches
where we know that our culture is a little mad,
but we don’t mind
for we have become curious again
and forgiving,
and now there is trust among us
fools, under the same stars,
here for a while
rejoicing
“we pause and connect”
before i flavor my drink
we pause and connect
she tells me of dawn light, the morning air
and night sounds under the stars
her memories of the soil, of rain squalls and pollination,
how fond she was of the bees,
the underground song-lines amongst
her kin in the orchard are news to me
she tells me of her heritage
the seed her mother once was
planted, cared for, for many years
then, of the hands that picked her
the bumpy ride, skin to skin,
a seasons generation, all going to market
a journey of hundreds of miles
being displayed under lights made by man
that is where we first met
me unaware . . . she just one more item to procure
now that we have become acquainted
gratitude and awe fill me, as i slice this lemon
and i stand in wonder, slightly overwhelmed
at the contents of my refrigerator
“skillful ways”
sometimes we get shown a skillful way
that can radically improve the quality of our life
a shift of perception that brings insight
new skillful means of communication that takes us
from the land of loneliness to genuine companionship
mindful habits that bring us a foundation of inner peace
we are able to learn and integrate new ways
at any age and let ourselves be moved
by fresh currents
just imagine what this means . . .
vast new horizons lay ahead!
as we embark on the journey of unlearning
the confines of our old ways
I wish us all
Bon Voyage!
stay tuned
with weekly free musings
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